


Keep Me Safe

by lionheartedghost



Category: Chicago Med
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Rhodestead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 10:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20993036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionheartedghost/pseuds/lionheartedghost
Summary: So what if Will was a little skittish, a little on edge? It was nothing unexpected. Things would go back to how they were before, and Will and Natalie would set another wedding date, and Connor would insist he was happy for them until he started to believe it himself.But then Will showed up at his apartment with a half-packed bag and a lost look in his brown eyes, and Connor wasn’t sure things would ever go back to how they were.After Natalie tells him he can't stay, Will shows up at Connor's apartment.Originally posted on Tumblr.





	Keep Me Safe

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Tumblr prompt 'You're Safe Now + Rhodestead'
> 
> Set after Will returns to Chicago in 4x10.

Connor wished he could look at Will without remembering. He could still see Jay Halstead’s face at the OR window, still hear the rattling of plastic as he fought to get Connor’s attention. _His name is Shawn Corcoran, and the guys that shot him? They’re going to do the same thing to Will if I can’t find him._ Will, who was supposed to be en route to the church for his wedding, missing and in more danger than Connor could even bear to think about. And Connor had known, the moment Jay had told him what was at stake, that he didn’t have a choice. He was supposed to do everything he could to save his patients. He’d sworn an oath. But Will came first.  
  
They’d got to Will in time. They’d bundled him into a car, driven him to the church to say a rushed goodbye to Natalie, blood staining his shirt collar, and then they’d ushered him back into the car again and driven him to God knows where, somewhere safe, somewhere they hoped he wouldn’t be at the mercy of gun-wielding mob members.  
  
Connor hadn’t heard any of it from Will himself. He’d pieced it together over the weeks from fragmented testimonies, Natalie’s stunned memory, what little Jay could tell him without jeopardising Will further. And, as much as he hated himself for it, there was a part of Connor that was glad he hadn’t had to see Will that night, covered in another man’s blood. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get something like that out of his head.  
  
It was a little over a month before someone deemed Chicago safe enough for Will to return. He’d followed Natalie into the ED his first morning back with a relieved smile, and he’d returned Connor’s ‘welcome back’ with a grateful touch on the arm, but it didn’t take Doctor Charles to see that Will wasn’t quite right. Not that Connor blamed him, of course; how many people could stare death in the face, be ripped away from everything they knew, be tossed back into society five weeks later as if nothing had happened and _not_ be a little off? So what if Will was a little skittish, a little on edge? It was nothing unexpected. Things would go back to how they were before, and Will and Natalie would set another wedding date, and Connor would insist he was happy for them until he started to believe it himself.  
  
But then Will showed up at his apartment with a half-packed bag and a lost look in his brown eyes, and Connor wasn’t sure things would ever go back to how they were.  
  
“She told me I couldn’t stay.” Will wrapped his fingers around the mug of coffee Connor had handed him. Steam rose and curled in the air in front of Will’s face, and he leant into it, closing his eyes briefly to savour the smell. “Not as long as I have my gun.”  
  
Connor resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows. “You got a gun?” He kept his voice even as he sipped at his own coffee.  
  
“I need it,” Will insisted, a look in his eyes so fierce that Connor felt his heart skip a beat. “For protection. It’s the only way I can keep everyone safe.”  
  
Connor didn’t answer. He watched Will carefully, saw the way his right hand trembled just so, caught the nervous looks he fired at the doorway. Connor nodded once.  
  
“I’ll find you some sheets. The couch is yours for as long as you want it.”  
  
Will’s lips twitched into a pitiful attempt at a smile. “Thanks.”  
  
Connor had waved away his gratitude, handed him a stack of blankets and retreated to his own bed.  
  
He wasn’t sure why he’d woken up at 3AM, to begin with. He rolled over, fully intending to bury his face in the pillow and lose himself in unconsciousness again. Then, carefully, he sat up.  
  
A chill swept through his apartment, bitingly cold, billowing through the drapes.  
  
Connor pulled on his discarded jeans and a t-shirt and slowly padded out into the main room of his apartment.  
  
The glass doors to the balcony stood open. Silhouetted against the bright lights of the city, barefoot and dressed only in a pair of pyjama pants, Will clutched tightly to the railing.  
  
“Will?” Connor called softly, pausing in the doorway behind him. “What are you doing.”  
  
Will didn’t turn around. “I couldn’t breathe. I needed… I needed the air, I needed the space.”  
  
“Okay.” Connor combed his fingers through his hair. He could see his own breath condensing on the air in front of him. “Do you think you could come back inside? You’ll freeze.”  
  
Will was so still that for a moment Connor wondered whether he’d even heard him speak. Then, hesitantly, Will stepped back inside and let Connor lead him over to the couch.  
  
Connor pulled the doors closed again and picked up a blanket Will had thrown over the back of the couch, draping it around Will’s shoulders in an attempt to warm him up. Flakes of snow clung to Will’s hair.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Will looked up suddenly, tucking the edges of the blanket more tightly around himself. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”  
  
Connor shook his head absently. “Don’t worry about it. Are you okay?”  
  
Will curled his fingers into the blanket. “Yeah. I just… I can’t… every time I try to sleep, it’s like I can feel the metal against my head again and I…” Will trailed off with a shudder.  
  
“You’re safe now,” Connor sat beside him gingerly. “I promise.”  
  
Will sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. “I know, I know, I just don’t _feel_ it. That’s why…”  
  
“Why what?” Connor prompted.  
  
“It doesn’t matter.”  
  
Connor bumped his knee against Will’s. “Tell me.”  
  
“That’s why I came to you.” Will glanced across at him from the corner of his eye. “You make me feel safe, I guess.”  
  
Connor’s words caught in his throat. Will shifted uncomfortably beside him. Then, taking a breath, Connor raised his hand to Will’s shoulder and squeezed, his thumb stroking against the blanket. “Good,” he said quietly, “I’m glad.”  
  
Will cleared his throat. “Will you… would you stay with me? Just for a little while, only if you don’t mind-”  
  
“Will,” Connor interrupted, a reassuring smile tugging at his lips as Will met his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.”  
  
Will returned the smile, leant into Connor, and closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave kudos/a comment if you enjoyed it!
> 
> I'm on Tumblr under the same username ([lionheartedghost](http://lionheartedghost.tumblr.com/)) if you want to leave a prompt or just say hi!


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